The idea of Chandrayaan I, perhaps not named as Chandrayaan then, was first discussed in 1999 and passed in the cabinet in the year 2003. It took five years for the scientists at ISRO to complete the mission successfully. The total cost of Chandrayaan I is estimated to be worth Rs 350 cr. Believe me guys these are staggering numbers. I read in an article that the cost associated with this mission is phenomenally low as compared to other moon missions. And to successfully land a probe on moon in five years time is no mean achievement. Mind you, till date only six attempts have been made by nations to embark on moon mission but Japan and European Space Agency did not place any object on moon.
A lot of debate has been going off late questioning the very purpose of Chandrayaan I. Was it feasible for a growing economy like India to have a go at something that has been previously achieved by three other nations? Don't we have enough problems back on earth, India, which we need to address? Wouldn't it have been wise if the government had decided to spend a whopping Rs 350 cr on rural development, better road connectivity, better education? I read some interesting comments as a response to the first pictures of moon taken by the MIP during its descent on the lunar surface. Some even accused to the point that ISRO had brought the pictures from US or China and are selling the news that MIP managed to capure them and accused the government to pay some heed to the basic problems faced by India like poverty, rural education etc. I mean are these guys anywhere near to being serious? I leave it for your imagination.
Just to clear the air, there are different departments or government bodies to take care of different arenas like Agriculture, Sports, Arts, Engineering etc in order to facilitate the holistic development of a country. Just because government decides to budget Rs 350 cr to moon mission doesn't allow other departments to hold science hostage. For Indian railways Rs 350 cr is nothing but just 1.75% of its annual profit, if my sources are to be believed. Some also questioned of the possible scientific benefits that the scientists and a common man of India would reap. Well, India has 11 communication satellites in orbit which facilitate mobile communication, weather forecasting, bringing education and health care to remote villages in India via Tele-links from schools and hospitals in cities. One never questions these things because they justify some usage to the common man. Who knows what these mission explorations could lead to in coming years. I don't know how far this is true but some scientists have gone on the record, from both India and China, to say that moon might contain enough Helium 3, a key fuel for nuclear fusion. It is believed that moon might contain up to 5m tonnes of Helium 3 against 15 tonnes on earth enough to produce energy for 8000 years. Each year three space shuttle mission to moon and it would eventually solve the energy problem all across the globe. But it is easier said than done. Bringing anything from that far in space would take some scientific doing. How and when ? we might not live that long. But with science, one never knows !!!
Another allegation was what are we doing different from others? Could we just not have collected the information from other nations who were successful? Well, here is the answer. Chandrayaan I will orbit the moon for 2 years and map a high resolution three dimensional atlas of the rear and far end of the moon. In layman's term, Chandrayaan I will be the only mission to have completely scanned the lunar surface for mineral wealth. Other nations namely US, Japan, Bulgaria, Germany and Sweden also have their Hi Tech probes mounted on Chandrayaan I, the technical details of which I am unaware of.
If India would have directly embarked on a Mars mission and failed, people would have asked wouldn't it have been more sensible if India had first attempted something near like moon before embracing other celestial bodies? Ahhh, critics they never retire, do they? Kudos to the scientists who were involved in such a prestigious mission and have put India on the global map of handful of nations to have had a chance to date the MOON.
Attention World, here comes India ! She is roaring to be recognised. Recently after a humiliating defeat to India on its home soil, the Australian veteran batsman Mathew Hayden gave the reason as "the frustrations associated with a third world nation" for slow over rate of Australian bowlers. Such a shame that he still relies on a third world nation to earn a hefty amount. Somewhere it was correctly mentioned that even the sticker on Sachin Tendulkar's bat is worth more than Matty's house :)
Well, how is the success of Chandrayaan I for an answer to being alleged as a third world nation.
